Harness and shaft coupling.



No. 650,606. Patented May 29, 1900.

|. LA GRANGE.

HARNESS AND SHAFT COUPLING.

(Application filed May 15, 1899.)

(No Model.)

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'IIIIIIIIIIm NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ISAAC LA GRANGE, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

HARNESS AND SHAFT COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 650,606, dated May 29, 1900.

Application filed May 15, 1899 To (1. whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ISAAC LA GRANGE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Harness and Shaft Couplings, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,

which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to an improved device for coupling a harness to the shafts of a vehicle, and has for one object to dispense with the tugs, breeching, and holdback-straps and also affords a means for rapid and simple coupling between the harness and the shafts; and my invention consists in certain features of novelty hereinafter described and claimed.

Figure I is a side elevation showing the coupling between the harness and the shafts. Fig. II is a side elevation showing the shaft uncoupled from the harness. Fig. III is a detail side elevation showing the couplingbracket in position on the harness. Fig. IV is a transverse section of the bracket, showing back and breast straps in position. Fig. V is an end elevation of the bracket. Fig. VI is a bottom view of the shaft plate, showing bracket connected therewith. Fig. VII is a front view of the bracket. Fig. VIII is a longitudinal section of the shaft-plate inverted, showing operation of the locking-bolt. Figs. IV, V, VI, VII, and VIII are on a larger scale than Figs. I, II, and III, so as to fully show the details of construction.

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents a bracket made in the form of a yoke, having laterally-extending lugs 2 on each of its ends.

3 represents an inner recess in the bracket, in which the back-strap 4 rests.

5 represents an outer recess in the bracket for the reception of the end of the breaststrap. This outer recess provides lugs 2.

6 represents elongated slots in the lugs 2, through which the rear end of the breast-strap or tug extends.

7 represents a laterally-extending pin centrally located in the bracket 1 and having its inner end secured to the bracket. The pin 7 extends some distance beyond the outer face of the lugs 2 and is provided with a notched recess 8 on its under side, near its outer end.

Serial No. 716,932. (No model.)

9 represents a shaft of a vehicle, and 10 a metallic shaft-plate secured to the under side of the shaft. The shaft-plate 10 may be provided with screw holes 11, through which screws may be inserted to secure the shaftplate to the under side of the shaft, or other means may be employed for securing the shaft-plate to the shaft without a departure from the spirit of my invention. The shaftplate 10 is provided with a pendent housing 12, in which is located a longitudinal orifice 13 for the reception of a longitudinal lockbolt 14, the locking-bolt being provided with a head-section 15 and a rear section 16 of smaller diameter than the head-section. On the rear section 16 I place a coil-spring 17, which rests in the orifice 13 between the inner end of the said orifice and the head-section of the bolt.

18 represents a hole at the rear end of the housing 12, said hole being of smaller diameter than the orifice 13, the spring 17 being thus confined within the orifice 13.

19 represents a socket extending transversely of the housing 12 and at right angles with the locking-bolt 14.

20 represents a lateral shoulder on the housing 12, which extends into the outer recess within the bracket 1, said shoulder limiting the movement of the bracket in its connection with the shaft-plate, but permitting sufficient play for the slight rise and fall of the shafts while in use.

In operation when the back-strap and the ends of the breast-strap have been connected to the bracket the breast-strap and back-strap are held together as though in one piece, but may be readily detached from each other. When the bracket is in position on the harness and the horse placed between the shafts, all that is necessary to do is to pull the bolt 1 1 backward, shove the pin 7 into the socket 19, and allow the head of the bolt 14: to engage in the notch 8 of the pin 7, this plan being carried out, of course, on each side of the horse, this being all the connection necessary between the horse and the shafts, thus dispensing with the tugs, breeching, and the holdback-straps and providing a coupling between the harness and shafts that is simple and quickly made.

21 represents a ring secured to the section 16 of the shaft-bolt, whereby the bolt may be drawn backward in making the coupling.

My device may be also used for detaching the horse from the shafts in case of a runaway, accidents, &c. This would be carried out by attaching a strap or cord to the ring 21 and running it back to the body of the vehicle, Where the occupant could, simply by pulling upon the strap or cord, draw the bolt 14 backward, at the same time slightly rais ing the shafts and freeing the horse from the Vehicle.

I have described my device as applied to a breast-strap harness; but it equally applies to a collar and a haine harness or any harness in which the forward end of the tug extends from the breast of the animal to the back-strap, in a collar and halne harness the tug resting in the harness-bracket 1, which is occupied by the breast-strap in that style of harness.

I claim as my invention A harness and shaft coupling comprising a bracket constructed in the form of a yoke with an inner recess for the reception of a back-strap and with side lugs; each lug havingaslot for the reception of the breast-strap, and both lugs providingan outer recess across which the breast-strap extends, a pin having a bolt-recess at the under side near its outer end and centrally fixed to the bracket, and the metallic shaft-plate constructed with a pendent housing having an inwardly-extending shoulder adapted to occupy a position between the lugs on the bracket, with a longitudinal bolt-orifice, with a bolt-hole at the rear of the bolt-orifice, and with a socket extending across the bolt-orifice, a lock-bolt constructed with a head-section adapted to slide in the bolt-orifice, working across the socket, and adapted to engage the bolt-recess in the pin, and with a rear section extending through the bolt-hole, a spring located in the bolt-orifice, and means connected with the rear section of the bolt for Withdrawing the bolt to release the coupling at will; substan tial] y as described.

ISAAC LA GRANGE;

\Vitnesses:

EMMET H. WILSON, JAS. E. KNIGHT. 

